


Deal

by KhadaVengean



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Ambivalence, Bad Ending, Bittersweet, Children, F/M, Female Kurusu Akira, Fluff, Married Couple, Married Life, Memory Loss, Repression, Weird Plot Shit, bitter fluff, this is so weird, weird angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-15 22:27:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19629817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KhadaVengean/pseuds/KhadaVengean
Summary: Akira chose to accept the deal to save the one she loved. Now she has to pay the consequences.





	Deal

**Author's Note:**

> I have a big Problem with F!AkiraxAkechi. I love them way too much. And I love the possibilites with this bad Ending way too much. Holy Moly.  
> I posted this two months ago on FF.net and since I've discovered AO3, I'm just bringing this over.   
> I hope you enjoy this weird angst or whatever this is. I've had way too much fun writing this. 
> 
> There will be more coming for These two.   
> Enjoy.   
> English is not my first language. Please be Aware of that.

_„_ _ You truly are a child of man… It seems you couldn't win against your own desires." _

„ _You are a Trickster after all..."_

„ _The Phantom Thieves will be praised and gain fame. The world will escape ruin as well."_

„ _I will be able to save that foolish love of yours."_

„ _Someone, be it god or demon, gave me a chance!"_

„ _Very well."_

„ _Our contract has been sealed then."_

* * *

** I. **

In the refulgence of the cherry blossoms, he shot her the most relieved smile she'd ever see in her life.

For the special occasion, Akira had braided her dark locks into a formal bun, fitting for the event that transpired on this day. She chose the best dress in her closet, the most uncomfortable shoes and even wore earrings for once in a long time.

But the thing she liked the most about her outfit was the jacket that was drawn over her shoulders.

" _ I don't want you to catch a cold. It's spring but we don't want to provoke it."  _

" _ You don't have to worry, I'm fine."  _

"Have you already considered what you want to do now? We've never talked about it."

"We didn't?" Akechi looked into her face with a baffled expression, his red eyes widened in confusion. "Are you sure? I could have sworn I've told you already."

She halted in her movement. "I...are you sure? I don't remember."

He sighed, tightened his tender grip of her hand in his and led her further through Inakoshira park. "I've got accepted into university. Even the SIU made indications of accepting me into their ranks when I'm done with everything." He looked at her with this loved patience in his eyes. "What about you? Have you already reached a decision? Or do you have any idea?"

Ah. It was always the same: every time he'd talk about his final exams or even mentioned university, Akira was the one who really had to think about the future. To this day, even when she is getting closer to being eighteen, she had no clue what to do. There were so many things that could be considered. So many jobs were interesting and fun to imagine.

But the choice of her work was never the first thing that came to mind.

"Hey, Goro, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

Her tongue was tied in a knot, a lump in her throat prevented her from speaking. From the corner of her eye, a little family sitting on a bench caught her attention. a man and a woman with a little boy. Even a blind man could see that they were dysfunctional; both parents were sitting on each end of the bench, while the boy sat right in the middle, kicking his legs back and forth. He tried to speak, but closed his mouth as soon as he looked at the cold expression of his father and the resigned face of his mother.

"Akira?"

The black haired looked upward, grabbed the intervened hand of her boyfriend with her other and didn't realize how immense the need for his touch was. "Goro, promise me something!"

He tilted his head. "What is it?"

"You've graduated today and you will go to university in a couple of weeks. I have to return home in two weeks and I..." Why did her tongue go against her? Why did it rebel now? "I..."

"You?"

She wanted to strangle him. Why couldn't he see what she was trying to say? It was so damn obvious, but he didn't seem to catch it. Why were men always this dense? "When we're separated, promise me..." She could feel the tears swelling in her eyes while she spoke, leaning forward and pressing her face into his chest. She caught the scent of his cologne and she felt home. "Promise me that we won't break up."

Not even a second passed when he put his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close to him and burying his face into her raven locks. "I'll never leave you. I promise. I love you and cherish you and nothing will ever change that."

Under blurry sight, she lifted her face and promptly looked into the apathetic face of the little boy who looked at her. Maybe it was fury, maybe it was sadness. But it drove right through her core and she couldn't stop the sobbing shaking her shoulders.

Maybe this boy wanted to be a hero. Or he just wanted his parents to be together. A wish, normal for a little boy.

Even when they lay in bed that night, side by side, Akechi already asleep, Akira looked at the ceiling and imagined those sad eyes looking at her in envy. She felt sorry for him.

She wouldn't be surprised if that treatment would be his downfall.

* * *

** II. **

Five years in the relationship, Akechi finally popped the one question every girl would want to hear.

And, of course, she said yes and put her arms around his neck and laughed like the happiest woman in the world.

Her surroundings were ecstatic. Her coworkers were congratulating her, her parents delighted to hear that their lives as grandparents were in close reach and she even received a call from her former guardian to say how happy he was.

Four weeks prior the big date, Akira decided to finally get a wedding dress with an old friend from high school.

"Don't you think this shows a little bit too much skin?"

"Of course not, you're beautiful. To be honest, I could imagine you to be a model for wedding dresses, Akira! I'm pretty sure you would look stunning in all of them."

Akira giggled, feeling a blush climb up her cheek. "Thank you, that's really sweet." The only person who'd say this to her was her fiance after all. "But I'm glad to hear you say that. Sometimes I think the only reason Goro tells me this is because he feels obligated."

"Definetly not." The young woman with the black hair stepped behind her, put her hands on her shoulders and took her hair into her hands to put them over her naked shoulder. "I promise you, you will look beautiful with whatever you're wearing."

"Now you're exaggerating." Akira's laugh echoed through the store and she couldn't help but smile brightly into the mirror and comb her hair with her fingers. "Imagine if I'd cut my hair short or even dye it!"

"Even then!"

"Oh come on, picture me with dyed hair, blonde or something."

"Okay, I show you." This time, her friend took her hair again and parted them into two tails. "Even if you'd wear this style, Goro would say that you're beautiful and I have to agree."

The hairstyle she imitated were pigtails.

And suddenly, a shiver ran down her spine.

Did she imagine it or did she gain weight? Maybe the idea to eat crepes after shopping was a bad idea. She had to look good for the wedding. After all, she wasn't a model. She didn't have those dreamlike legs, the perfect waist and those narrow hips. Sometimes, Akira thought that her shoulders were broader than her hips.

Perish the thought.

"I..."

"What is it?"

Why did she even worry? She found her significant other, her other half, her soulmate. He never said much about her looks or her weight and was always truthful.

But…

"I think I will lose some weight before the wedding. At least I have a motivation to stick to that plan."

Her friend looked at her, confusion written on her face. "Are you sure? You don't have to go on a diet. Choose something that fits and everything's fine."

"No, I think I will abstain from that crepe we wanted to get." Solely the thought was alone to let her mouth water. "No, I will be strong." She sighed. "You can't imagine how jealous I am of these women who can eat like no tomorrow and do not gain weight. How unfair is the world?"

Her friend with the black hair and those gentle eyes chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder and looked with her at her reflection. "They are just lucky, I guess."

* * *

** III. **

A beautiful daughter. A gorgeous baby girl.

After hours filled with the labor pains, the hysteria of her mother and the anxiety of her husband, the child of Goro and Akira Akechi has been born. Akira gave birth to a little girl with the eyes of her mother and the small tuft of hair resembling her father.

Goro cried tears of joy, her mother fell unconscious during those hours and her father was waiting outside.

And while he held their little girl, the embodiment of their wishes and dreams after their wedding, both realized that they never decided on a name. Of course, ideas have been exchanged, but they never settled on it.

First and foremost, her husband was worried beyond comprehension. What if something happened to them? He wanted his own child to grow up in a better world.

The tears haven't dried yet when he looked at her. Slowly, but with tenderness and love carved in his movement, he put his daughter back into her mother's arms. She fell asleep after crying and looking at her father with those wonderful eyes of her. "Do you have an idea?"

She heard the soft tapping of the rain on the window, a growl of thunder echoing beneath the horizon. The weather forecast announced that it'd snow on this day.

"I..." She hesitated in speaking, but shook her head and pulled her girl closer to her chest. "I have so many, but when I look at her, there is nothing that comes to mind." She wanted the name to be perfect, a name that fitted her girl. Her princess, her world, her entire universe.

"I know what you mean." He sat on the edge of the hospital bed, put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. "Maybe we should have talked about this a little bit sooner?"

"Maybe, but that would have taken all the fun." Exhaustion was crawling up her shoulders and her arms, slumber climbing into her eyes and pulling down her lids. "I don't know..."

She touched her head with her nose, caught the scent and realized that no child would smell that wonderful. Hours later, she'd find out that every child smelled great, according to the nurses, but Akira was absolutely certain that her little girl was incomparable. She was one of a kind.

A true inspiration to do everything in her life. To pursue her goals and dreams. To create a better world than she had to witness.

Akira stopped in her movement, her body froze. Suddenly, the baby in her arms turned to a cold weight which nearly forced her to let her drop.

A better world?

Suddenly, a name popped in her head.

"Sayuri."

She spoke with a calm voice and tears swelled in her eyes. At the end of the day, she couldn't decide who cried more; her or her husband.

Her husband. Goro Akechi was her husband.

Her last name was Akechi.

"It's wonderful."

On a snowy winter day, Sayuri Akechi has been born.

* * *

** IV. **

Six years later, the family Akechi spent a peaceful Sunday in the middle of summer.

Over the course of the last years, Akira found a variety of different hobbies. Sewing, sports, cooking and only two years in her new life as mother, she decided to try out gardening.

To this point it was a complete success.

Their garden became a paradise under her supervision. Years of hard work and dedication turned the once sad sight into a mix of yellow roses, white lilies, azaleas and chrysanthemums. People who saw her treasure once declared it resembled as a painting.

Akira only laughed and waved them off.

Crouching down to water her plants, she looked from the corner of her eyes and saw a sneaking shadow coming closer. From the short distance, she could hear the chuckle of her husband echo through the porch. Putting the can on the ground, she quickly turned around, grabbed after the shadow and lifted the body of her girl high in the air, getting squeals and giggles as response. "Aha, got you."

"Mommy!"

Despite the whining, the giggle didn't stop and Akira couldn't stop herself from tickling her daughter to oblivion. She was whining, she was giggling, she was fumbling in her arms, putting her arms around her neck and burying her face in her shoulder.

Akira's heart was bursting with joy. It was perfect.

"You think you can trick me?" Swinging her to both sides, she relished in her laughing. To imagine that she'd hear a similar sound in five months.. "You can't trick your mommy, sweetie. Trust me, your father already tried and he failed every time." Shooting her daughter a wink, she grinned in her husband's direction and pulled the girl close to her chest.

"She's right, Sayuri. Whatever your mother tries to do, you’ll never see it coming." Goro laughed openly, the newspaper splayed on his lap. "Never try to take your mother on, you never win."

"I know, Papa. That's because mom's the greatest." The smile on her daughter's face was enough to melt all worries in this world.

"Are there any news, Sayuri? You didn't tell me about your visit to your friend. How was it? Did you do anything fun?"

"Oh yes. Her mommy made us pancakes and her dad asked me what I want to become when I grow up." And suddenly, a smirk appeared on her lips and she cocked her head to the side.

"And? What did you say?"

Her daughter leaned close to her ear, whispered her wish and brought a smile to Akira's face. "Oh really?" She asked and her daughter nodded enthusiastically. "How about you tell your daddy?"

Sayuri complied, running to her father and climbing on his lap to whisper it frantically in his ear, which brought a laugh from his mouth and an overjoyed expression. "I look forward to see it."

Sayuri was only six. She had all the time in the world to decide what she wanted to be.

She had to decide how she wanted to live her life.

And her heart resembled a stone for the blink of an eye.

On that evening, when both Goro and Akira already prepared themselves for bed, when he lay behind his wife to put a hand on her growing bump, the exclamation of their daughter echoed in their heads.

"I want to become a detective. Just like daddy!"

* * *

** V. **

Her oldest daughter was seven when she came home, crying and shutting herself off in her room.

Akira followed Sayuri to the second floor and would stand in front of the door. Worry and fear struck her heart when she stood in front of the wooden door. She knocked slowly, with care. "Sayuri?" She called softly, hearing the small sobs of her girl echoing behind the wall. "Sweetie, do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"No, leave me alone!"

No matter what she did, Sayuri wouldn't open the door. Akira sighed, let her shoulders fall and decided to give her a little bit time. She'd pray to all gods and heavens that her chances were better during the evening.

She returned to her second child, who just became one recently, and found her in the living room during her third try to stand up on her own. With support from her mother, she'd walk two or three steps, but it was already a giant one forward.

The day passed by and her oldest still showed no sign of coming out.

And while her second daughter was full from dinner and sleeping in her crib, Akira made a plate of her best curry, took a spoon and slowly went upstairs. She knocked again. "Sweetie, I've brought you some dinner."

No response.

"Sayuri, open the door. Talk to me."

Again no response. Did she already go to sleep?

"I'm worried about you. Please..." When was the last time she felt so lonely? So helpless?

_ The world will escape ruin… _

"Open the door. Don't shut me out."

Sayuri opened the door and the it was too much to ask. The tears were falling from her daughter's eyes.

_ Am I a freak? Am I too weird? What is wrong with me? Am I not normal?  _

Questions which ripped her heart into two.

Akira pulled her daughter into her chest, letting her cry her tears and soaking her blouse. She rubbed her back comfortingly and whispering reassuring words into her ear.

" _ It seems I'm unwelcome no matter where I go..."  _

"Sayuri, listen to me." She wiped the tears of her daughter's face, looking into those gray eyes that she called her own and rubbed her nose against hers. Between all the sobs and hiccups, she was able to laugh. "Let me tell you something that I learned many years ago."

Suddenly, she couldn't remember who taught her that.

"Whenever someone is trying to hurt you by words, don't listen to them. Trust your own eyes and heart to distinguish the truth from those lies. Listen to the voice inside of you and try to find out what is right."

Her sobbing halted. She nodded, rubbing her eyes dry with her sleeve. "Mom, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"I wanna go somewhere. Do you think we can go on a trip?"

They complied. On the following Sunday, Akira and Goro took their daughters to the countryside to visit their grandparents.

In her old home, Akira sat on the porch, looked at the sky and remembered the sentence she told her daughter.

_ I won't be led astray by other's voices… _

Why did those words feel like acid in her mouth?

* * *

** VI. **

On a seemingly normal evening, Akira and Goro were sitting side by side on the porch. While Goro had set his eyes on the dark night sky, his wife was busy browsing through one of the albums their daughters had found. A permanent smile was apparent on her face and she leaned warmly into his side. His hand was combing through her hair, caressing her scalp and eliciting small sounds from her mouth.

"Is it really so interesting to look at the wedding photos?"

She had to laugh. "Come on, it's been some time. Just let me enjoy these memories."

"Whatever you say." He nuzzled her temple and this warm feeling spread through her chest and head. Suddenly, she didn't feel like thirty-one, but like eighteen. Back then, the fear of their separation has been on her mind for weeks, taking all the air away from her lungs. But when he showed up unannounced on her graduation day, she knew that she had nothing to worry about.

"Nostalgic?"

"Sometime it's necessary." She sighed deeply, laying her ear right over his heartbeat. A biological metronome, one of the few that has been capable to let her calm down over the course of the last years. After everything that they had to endu-

Wait.

Maybe her husband didn't notice it, but time stopped to continue. The moment froze in its existence.

The question was rightfully asked.

What did they have to endure?

How did they even meet?

After everything, why did she never think about it?

Her memories were complete on Christmas Day fourteen years ago. The year she became seventeen, after she transferred to Shujin Academy. She was sent on probation due to harming an innocent man.

Wait.

Innocent man? Why was she on probation again?

Why did everything stop after Christmas Eve? Why was her memory so patchy before that event?

Why did she hear voices but couldn't identify them? Why froze her body sometimes, in the middle of a random moment?

Why did she froze when she thought about the name of her oldest daughter?

Why was she oddly touched about the boy with the estranged parents?

Why did she feel uncomfortable about thinking about her weight? Why did she even care for something like that?

Why did it feel so wrong so tell her daughter that advice after she tried to shut herself off?

Why did she feel like a hypocrite when she thought about the freedom her daughter could have?

Freedom. What a joke.

Why? Why? Why?

What did she do? How did this happen?

What even happened? Akira couldn't remember.

How, why, when, where, what-

Whatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwha-

"Akira?"

Startling, the metronome returned to her ears and the steady drum of his heart let her thoughts die. There were no voices.

"Are you alright?"

Maybe it was unconscious, but she pulled those arms closer towards her, putting her arms around his waist. "Yes. I'm sorry."

She felt his body vibrate from his chuckle. "What are you sorry for?"

"It's..."

Silence.

"I don't know, maybe this nostalgia is hitting me a little bit too hard."

"Maybe you should stop think about the past and focus on the future instead?"

" _ GO TO HELL!" _

"I will try." Akira inhaled his scent – she smelled his cologne which she gave him as a present during last Christmas. "I'm glad I have you, Goro."

"And I you, Akira."

* * *

** VII. **

Akira was horrible at saying no to her daughters.

When both of them looked at her with their puppy eyes, she relented and brought a cheer to her girls. "Okay, I will talk with your father about it."

And while Goro was skeptical, he agreed that having a pet was a great practice for two young girls in the age of three and nine.

So, during a rainy day in fall, Akira made herself on the way with her two daughters to the closest animal shelter and found herself surrounded by cats.

Somehow, to have a cat just felt right.

Both girls were astonished. Her older one took the hand of her younger sister and made sure that she wouldn't cross any lines within the buildings. Both looked at the young cats and kittens, cooing over their cute appearance.

Akira sat in the background and watched them with adoration in her eyes.

"Mommy, we found one."

Rising from her seat, she crossed the room and suddenly looked into a pair of blue eyes. A black feline sat on the floor, looking at her with those piercing orbs. He nuzzled the hand of her younger daughter and meowed at her.

Her daughter was happy. That was all that mattered.

"Can we take him, Mom?"

Gray looked into blue and suddenly, the attention of the cat was solely focused on her. It was captivating, and without a worry in the world, she stretched out her hand to let the cat sniff it.

But instead of curiosity, the exact opposite happened.

A hiss escaped the cat, readying its claws and going into a tense stature, bristling. Her daughters looked at each other, when her youngest stretched her hand forward to calm the kitty.

One second later, a cry echoed through the room.

Mai held her scratched hand close to her chest, hiding in her mother's embrace. She cried and sobbed, the black feline being taken away. And while Akira was trying her best to calm her daughter and took care of the small wound, she couldn't forget the cat's expression.

Utter betrayal and disgust. Sadness and Fury. Disappointment and hatred.

" _ I'm not a cat!"  _

" _ You and me made a deal, yeah? That means I can stay here… Isn't that right?"  _

A deal?

Akira picked up her younger daughter and lifted her on her arms, carrying her to the outside. The moment to pick up a pet was over.

Maybe it'd come again.

Two weeks later, both girls decided they didn't want a pet anymore.

And when Goro looked at her in question, she shrugged. Maybe the moment would come again where they'd ask for it.

But Akira would make sure that their hypothetical cat wouldn't be a black one with striking blue eyes and a distinct meow.

* * *

** VIII. **

"Pst, Goro."

Her husband was tossing in the sheets, a low growl escaping him. "Akira." He was sluggishly speaking, putting a hand on his forehead, suffering under the consequences of low alcohol tolerance. "What happened?"

"Happy birthday." She kissed his forehead and felt how warm he actually was. Maybe the evening before was too much?

"Happy birthday?" He looked at her owlishly, rolled on his side and turned the clock around. "What time is it?"

"8 a.m. Time to wake up, young man."

"Young man." He chuckled, put his arm over his eyes and groaned deeply. "Tell that to someone who is actually thirty four, young lady."

"You're already complaining like an old gramps. Maybe you're already too old for me-"

She couldn't even bring her sentence to an end when he pulled her flush against him, grabbing her waist and burying his face into the crook of her neck and peppering butterfly kisses along the curve of her neck. "I think I'll never be too old to make you flustered."

Akira smiled coyly. "You think so? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Are you sure?"

He kissed her eyebrow, let his lips wander along her jaw, her cheek, her nose until he found her lips and he kissed he like she was the last source to survive in this world. Raw power and emotion dominated everything in her head, letting her thoughts swirl with no end in sight and she couldn't help but moan against his lips and bury her hands in his hair.

"You still think so?"

She arched her head back when he found that one spot on her neck and she was going crazy. Despite being together for so long, he still knew how to make her putty under his hands.

All the noises they made let her remember the first nights they spent as a unity, back in the days where they've both gone to high school and had a world to change-

Sudden steps let them drive apart and the door has been opened with a crash. Two girls stood in the door frame, running to their bed and bouncing on the mattress – while Sayuri jumped with enthusiasm and hugged her father around the neck, Akira pulled her child up and let her join her sister. "Happy birthday, daddy!"

"Happy birthday, Papa!"

Goro was happy, he laughed wholeheartedly and even when the hangover was partly present, he didn't let it hinder his joy. "Thank you, you two." He kissed their temples, pulled them close to his chest and resting his chin on their heads. "Did you get up this early just to wish me happy birthday?"

"Yes!"

Akira remained on the side, looking at her family with calm expression. It was worth it. Everything was so worth it.

But..what was?

"Mommy, are you ok?"

Her youngest daughter was the first to notice, reaching forward to touch her cheek with her little fingers. "Don't cry, Mama."

Did she cry? Wiping her cheek with her finger, she realized her youngest was right. Indeed, she was crying.

"Akira?" Her husband looked at her in worry. "Everything alright?"

"Of course." She reached for the hand of her husband while having her younger daughter seated on her lap, feeling his calloused fingers from his work.

And from holding and shooting a gun-

She shook her head, a headache propping in her head.

A gun? Why would her husband wield a gun?

"Everything's alright when we're together."

" _ You misunderstood...You're the one that's going to disappear!" _

"Always."

" _ Incinerate!" _

" _ Freeze, you fools!" _

" _ Tremble in fear!" _

" _ I'll kill you!"  _

Her husband, her love, would never utter those words.

Right?

* * *

** IX. **

" _ This is truly an unjust game..." _

Akira didn't know why, but one night, she awakened and felt more tired than ever before.

She rose from her spot, looking to the side to see her husband cocooned in the sheets, quietly snoring and calmly sleeping without a worry in the world. A smile tugged at her lips when she brushed his bangs aside from his face and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

" _ I will be able to save that foolish love of yours." _

Akira hesitated.

Looking at her husband, Akira suddenly realized something. Something very dumb.

Akira couldn't remember her maiden name.

She was Akira Akechi, married to Goro Akechi. They've been a couple since they were high school students. Back in the days when-

When what?

Good question. When what?

Akira shook her head, rising from the bed and entering the floor. She checked on her daughters, sitting on the edge of Sayuri's bed, caressing the brown hair of her father which she let grow to her elbows. It was a pain to comb it every day, but it was always a wonderful thing to see.

" _ Was Sayuri your mother's name?"  _

Mother's name?

Akira rubbed her temples, sighing quietly, pulling the blanket over her daughter and kissed her cheek. After that, she left her room to reach the one right next to it, opened the door to realize that her younger daughter was still awake with her light on. She lay on her back, looked at the ceiling and startled when she saw her mother in the door frame. "Mommy."

"Mai." She entered the room and copied the action from before – she sat on the edge of her daughter's bed. "What's wrong? Can't you sleep?"

"No." Sadly, she shook her head and made herself as small as possible. "I just had a nightmare and couldn't sleep anymore."

Normally, like many times before, her younger daughter would climb into her parent's bed and cuddle herself into the side of her father.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

She seemed hesitant which was another bad sign in her head. "There was a man in my dream and… I was in a prison.”

"A prison?" Akira tilted her head to the side.

"Yes, and there was a very scary man with such a loooooooooooong nose-" As long as she stressed the word, she reached farther away to show the length. "And he was really mean, but said weird things, like the world was saved-”

Akira's eyes widened, looking into the reddish brown of her daughter, resembling her father.

Her heart, her soul, her blood. Everything turned cold at once.

"Mommy?"

She looked upwards into her daughter's face. "Yes, what is it?"

"I think I can go to sleep again."

" _ Go to sleep, Akira." _

"That's good." Akira rose from her seat, walked over to the door.

"Mommy?"

"What is it?"

"I love you."

Suddenly, the tears were unstoppable now. "I love you too, sweetheart."

She closed the door behind her.

The echo remained through her head.

* * *

** X. **

„ _You are a Trickster after all..."_

Akira’s sob were stuck in her throat, but she couldn't stop the tears. They were just flowing, falling. As if there was no tomorrow.

Was there even a real tomorrow?

Every day, she lived her life. She got to university, she got a job, she was married to a wonderful man, she had two magnificent daughters. There was nothing in the world that could force her to change-

Ruin. Change. Rehabilitation.

" _ A man with such a looooooooooooooong nose." _

She couldn't even remember her own maiden name.

" _ Do you take Goro Akechi to be your wedded husband, to cherish in love and in friendship, in strength and in weakness, in success and in disappointment, to love him faithfully, today, tomorrow, and for as long as the two of you shall live?" - "I do." _

" _ Well, because I'm a psychic, of course. Haha, I'm only joking. In truth, I'm a rookie detective." _

Why?

" _ Soon, a new world will come. One where mankind isn't held captive. The world will shine brightly as long as you hold hope in your hearts. Remember..." _

" _ This world is so messed up! The weak are left to fight for themselves, while rotten adults get away with whatever they want!" _

" _ I don't know what we should do… but if we give up, we'll never save him!" _

" _ Though the flowers of evil blossom, be it known… Abominations are fated to perish!" _

" _ I can feel it...Myself...Me!" _

" _ You're just a fake created by those horrid adults! I'll… I'll never… I'll never forgive them!" _

" _ I'm going to protect that which my father left for me!" _

Akira buried her face in her hands. These voices didn't leave her head.

What…

" _ You all are truly behind my comprehension..." _

What…

" _ Thou hast fallen and lost thy noble life. The hero hath crumbled over weight of her own justice. Her story of revolution reacheth not the ears of the people. The torch of energy that hath begun to kindle hath now been extinguished by tainted winds..." _

** What has she done? **

* * *

"Let's make a deal… Ok? You won't say no...will you?"


End file.
